Fermilab Directors and Technicians (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory), the laboratory specializing in particle physics of the United States Department of Energy, were at Unicamp this Tuesday (10), as part of the technical visit schedule of the research program for neutrino identification called LBNF/DUNE (Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Facility).
Dune is considered the most ambitious experiment in the history of neutrino research – which are subatomic particles considered a key element in understanding the process of creation, constitution and evolution of the universe. Headquartered at Fermilab, the project involves 200 institutions from 37 countries and approximately 1.400 scientists from around the world.
The participation of Unicamp – which coordinates the Brazilian team and is the main national representative in the project – is focused on the development of the technology for photodetection of the light generated by the particle detectors and the production of highly pure liquid argon, considered essential for the experiment.
According to Unicamp professor Pascoal Pagliuso, coordinator of the liquid argon project, the visit was part of the project implementation schedule. “During the development of the argon project, technicians make regular visits. These are periodic reviews provided for in the project,” he said. According to the professor, the work is progressing within the expected schedule.
The coordinator says that the first part of the argon program should be delivered in March 2027, and the last in March 2028. “But our participation does not end there. After that, we will work on generating and analyzing data, which will also be essential for the project,” he adds.
Dune will install a large neutrino detector in the US state of South Dakota. This detector will be located 1.600 meters underground and 1.300 kilometers away from the city of Chicago, where the particle beam will be generated.
In addition to carrying out the inspection, Fermilab technicians met with the rector of Unicamp, Paulo Cesar Montagner. Also present at the meeting were the vice-director of projects for LBNF\DUNE, Ronald Ray, the laboratory project manager David Montanari, and engineers Roza Doubnik and Zachery West. From Unicamp's Physics Institute, the director of the Institute, Marcos Cesar de Oliveira, and the principal researcher, Thiago Alegre, participated in the meeting.
